The Top 5 Things Every Business Must Know About Insider Threats

Key Takeaways

• Insider threats come in various forms and not all are malicious.
• Understanding insider causes and motivations is vital for prevention.
• Insider incidents cost businesses dearly, not only financially but also in reputation and operations.
• Strong defense relies on multiple layers, with access control serving as a critical component.
• Insider threats are growing, impacting all industries and organizations.
  
  

The Unseen Risk No Business Can Ignore

Imagine a scenario where a simple human error, like clicking a suspicious link or leaving a door propped open, triggers a breach costing millions in damages. While many business leaders recognize the dangers posed by insider threats, the true scope and complexity of these risks demand a more nuanced understanding.

According to Ponemon Institute and DTEX’s 2025 Cost of Insider Risks Report, a single security incident initiated by an insider costs businesses an average of $17.4 million USD. The impact goes beyond financial loss, affecting sensitive data, operational stability, and company reputation.

Insider threats involve individuals with legitimate access misusing their positions either intentionally or accidentally, putting sensitive data, finances, and reputations at risk. Unlike external attacks, insider incidents are often more challenging to detect and contain.

This blog post will cut through the complexity, breaking down the five crucial facts every business should know to effectively identify and address insider threats, helping organizations protect what matters most.

1. Insider Threats Come in More Than One Form

The term insider threat refers to the risk posed by individuals with privileged access to a company's systems or data, such as employees, contractors, or other personnel, who may intentionally or unintentionally use their access or knowledge for harmful purposes.

Not all insider threats are malicious. In fact, most are not. Types of insider threats include:

• The Malicious Insider: These individuals deliberately exploit their access for personal gain, to steal data, or to help competitors. For example, a disgruntled employee may steal intellectual property after being denied a promotion.
• The Negligent Insider: By far the most common type of insider risk, these are well-intentioned employees who inadvertently expose the company to risk, through poor security habits such as mishandling sensitive documents or falling for phishing scams.
• The Compromised Insider: Here, an external actor takes control of a legitimate user’s credentials, often through malware or phishing, to gain unauthorized access to an organization's network or systems. The attacker then operates under the guise of the trusted user, making the threat difficult to detect.
• The Colluding Insider: Employees who work with external threat actors to facilitate breaches or leaks.
• The Third-Party Insider: External business partners, contractors, or vendors who are not formal members of an organization but have been granted access to internal systems and data.
• The Shadow IT User: Anyone using unapproved technology, referred to as Shadow IT, to perform their work, which can be exploited to steal sensitive data or introduce malware, which can unintentionally introducing vulnerabilities.
• The Disgruntled Insider: Employees motivated by workplace grievances, who may leak or delete critical data. Compared to the malicious insider, the disgruntled insider’s actions are typically reactionary and maybe driven by emotion.
  
  

2. Causes and Motivations of Insider Threats Are More Common Than You Think

Understanding the "why" is the first step to preventing insider threats. Insider threats are driven by a variety of factors. They can be malicious or unintentional, with each type having distinct motivations and causes.

Malicious Insider Threats Motivations

Malicious insider threats are intentional acts carried out to harm an organization. The primary motivations for these acts are often personal or financial.

• Financial Gain: This is one of the most common motivations. An insider may steal and sell sensitive data such as customer information or intellectual property, for a profit. They may also engage in fraud or manipulate systems for personal financial gain. This can be driven by a desire for wealth or by personal financial distress.
  
  
• Revenge or Disgruntlement: A disgruntled employee may seek to harm the company out of a sense of being wronged. This can stem from perceived unfair treatment, a demotion, a passed-over promotion, a negative performance review, or an impending layoff or termination. Their actions, such as disrupting systems or leaking confidential data, are intended to punish the organization.
  
  
• Espionage: This motivation involves an insider stealing trade secrets or proprietary information to provide a competitive advantage to a rival company or a foreign government.
  
  
• Ideological Beliefs: In rare cases, an insider may act based on strong personal beliefs, such as a political or social cause. They may leak information to the public to expose what they perceive as wrongdoing by the company.
  
  

Unintentional Insider Threats Causes

Unintentional insider threats occur when an employee, contractor, or other insider inadvertently causes a security breach due to negligence, lack of knowledge, or human error. Unlike malicious threats, there is no intent to harm the organization.

• Poor security awareness, tools, and training: According to Gallagher’s 2025 Security Industry Trends Report, correcting human mistakes like clicking on malicious links or leaving entry points unsecured remains a major challenge for businesses worldwide. Insufficient security awareness and training coupled with poor cyber hygiene can leave employees vulnerable to phishing, social engineering, and other tactics used by malicious actors. Without knowledge of best practices, staff may inadvertently expose data, increasing the risk of insider threats.
  
  
• Excessive access privileges: Granting employees excessive access privileges can create opportunities for insider threats. When individuals can access sensitive information or critical systems beyond their job requirements, the risk of misuse or unauthorized access increases significantly. Following the principle of least privilege is an effective way to help reduce excessive access privileges and insider risk.
  
  
• Inadequate monitoring and auditing: Lack of proper monitoring and auditing of systems and data can make detecting and preventing insider threats difficult. With robust mechanisms to track and analyze user behavior, businesses may notice warning signs or respond promptly.
  
  

The Cost of an Insider Threat Goes Far Beyond Monetary Loss

It is important for businesses to acknowledge the potential harm of insider threats. Insider actions can have a devastating impact financially, reputationally, and legally.

Direct Financial Losses

Direct financial losses represent just one aspect of the challenge. In 2025, organizations face an average annual cost of $17.4 million USD per insider security incident, covering not only fraud and theft but also the costs of incident response and regulatory penalties.

Reputational Damage

Reputational harm can be even more damaging than financial loss. When sensitive information is compromised, organizations risk eroding customer trust and undermining their credibility in the marketplace. This loss of confidence can impede business growth and, in some cases, permanently stain a brand’s reputation.

Loss of Intellectual Property

The theft of intellectual property presents a distinct and long-lasting threat. When trade secrets or proprietary data fall into the wrong hands, organizations may lose years of innovation in an instant. This can erode competitive advantage and weaken an organization’s position within its industry.

Operational Disruption

Operational disruptions are another serious consequence of insider incidents. On average, it takes 81 days to fully contain an insider threat, leading to significant downtime and lost productivity. The consequence of disruption or downtime represents 24% of the cost of an insider security incident. These delays can ripple throughout the organization, affecting everything from customer service to supply chain reliability.

4. A Multi-Layered Strategy is Your Best Defense

Defending against insider threats requires a comprehensive, multi-layered strategy. This defense doesn’t rely on a single solution but rather multiple layers that typically combine risk management, prevention controls, technology solutions, employee education, and organizational policies. Each layer plays a role in minimizing risk, detecting suspicious behavior, and responding to incidents swiftly. This strategy ensures that if one security control fails, another is in place to detect or stop the threat.

Access control is a critical component of this strategy determining who can access what. When combined with the principle of least privilege, the practice of granting a user the minimum level of access necessary to perform their job, this reduces the attack surface, meaning there are fewer entry points for an insider risk. In tandem with strict access management, monitoring and auditing can reveal if they are attempting to do something they shouldn’t. Access control solutions log every user action, creating a detailed audit trail providing an immutable record of who did what, when, and where. By combining these measures, businesses build resilience, protecting against both accidental and intentional insider threats.

5. The Problem is Pervasive and Growing

Insider incidents are becoming increasingly prevalent, affecting organizations across every industry. In 2024 alone, 349 organizations reported experiencing one or more insider incidents, contributing to a staggering total of 7,868 such events, according to the. Despite the growing threat, only 12% of cases are contained in less than a month, while a significant 57% of businesses faced 21 or more insider incidents within the same year. Data from IBM’s 2025 Cost of a Data Breach Report highlights that malicious or criminal attacks, whether coming from within or outside the organization, account for 51% of breaches, with human error and IT failures responsible for 26% and 23% respectively. From finance and healthcare to manufacturing and technology, insider threats have emerged as a universal challenge for organizations seeking to safeguard their systems and data.

The Importance of Understanding Insider Threats

Insider threats pose a significant and growing challenge to organizations. Whether intentional or accidental, the risks are real but with multi-layered strategies in place, you can protect your business from harm. By staying proactive and educating your team, you can build a security-conscious culture that keeps your data safe.

If you haven’t already, now is the time to review your security policies, tighten access controls, and invest in awareness training. The more prepared you are, the better you can safeguard your business from insider threats.